Archive March 29, 2025

Betfred Super League

Catalans (10) 13

Tries: Tomkins 2 Goals: Tomkins 2 Drop-goal: Keary

St Helens (12) 14

Jonny Lomax kicked a late drop-goal as St Helens edged past Catalans Dragons 14-13 in a Super League thriller in Perpignan.

Tristan Sailor’s quickfire double put Saints up early before Les Dracs roared back as Sam Tomkins replied with two tries of his own to cut the deficit to two points.

The 36-year-old kicked a penalty to level the scores at 12-12 to set up a nervy finale before Lomax and Luke Keary traded late drop-goals.

But, with the tension mounting and errors creeping in for both sides, Lomax kept his cool to slot over the winning drop-goal with two minutes left to seal Saints ‘ first win in France since 2018.

Saints lost 19-year-old centre Harry Robertson inside three minutes after failing an HIA, but full-back Jack Welsby, on his 150th appearance, propelled them into an early 12-0 lead.

His first break and short inside pass gave Sailor a clear sprint to the line, and his second tore deep into Catalans territory before a quick play took him under the posts for his second try in three minutes. Mark Percival converted both.

Much of the pre-match talk centred on Tommy Makinson taking on his former side for the first time, and the full-back had a say on the pitch when his chip ahead held up in the gusting wind and bounced kindly for Tomkins to touch down.

Bayley Sironen was held up over the line before a Nick Cotric foot in touch denied Keary a score as Catalans pressed in a breathless opening half-hour.

Catalans enjoyed a let-off moments into the second half when Sailor was judged marginally offside before collecting a high, hanging Lomax kick to send Dayon Sambou over the line.

Paul Wellens ‘ side hung tough in defence, as Cotric was hauled down 10 metres short, and Keary went even closer with an angled run and stretch.

But the pressure told when Saints were caught offside in front of their own posts and Tomkins tied up the scores.

Soon after, Catalans thought they had hit the front for the first time, but Sironen’s touchdown was ruled out when Tevita Pangai Junior was deemed to have been tackled in the build-up.

The French side looked destined to wear down their opponents, but the Saints held their nerve and finished strongly.

Tomkins denied Saints a third score with eight minutes left when he got back to prevent Mark Percival collecting his chip through, but seconds later Lomax nudged the visitors back in front.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara:

“I thought it was a great contest and both teams played extremely well in the conditions, it’s very difficult for people to understand how tough that was to play.

” Both teams had a game plan, then looked at the weather and scrapped it but having said that I thought we played really well in attack for the majority of the game and defended well.

“For those two St Helens tries, I thought Jack Welsby was outstanding on both sets and it’s cost us dearly. Coming back from that point took a lot of energy but it was one of those games of fine margins and Saints just pipped us to the posts.

” I don’t think we’ve had a game this season in decent weather and it’s tested us again tonight but credit to Saints, Jack Welsby was outstanding for those couple of try plays and Lomax’s kicking the drop goals was the difference. “

St Helens boss Paul Wellens:

” It’s almost impossible to prepare for those windy conditions, you can’t replicate 60mph winds in training… you just have to be alert to things.

“You saw how many last plays bounced and it became a competition for the ball, some went our way and some went theirs.

” For Jonny to land two drop goals in those conditions is outstanding.

“It’s great that we won a tight game against top opposition and we’re going to need to do that again moving forward.

Interchanges: Romano, Satae, Seguier, Maria.

St Helens: Welsby, Bennison, Robertson, Percival, Sambou, Sailor, Lomax (c), Walmsley, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles.

Interchanges: Clark, Paasi, Wingfield, Delaney.

Betfred Super League

Catalans (10) 13

Tries: Tomkins 2 Goals: Tomkins 2 Drop-goal: Keary

St Helens (12) 14

Jonny Lomax kicked a late drop-goal as St Helens edged past Catalans Dragons 14-13 in a Super League thriller in Perpignan.

Tristan Sailor’s quickfire double put Saints up early before Les Dracs roared back as Sam Tomkins replied with two tries of his own to cut the deficit to two points.

The 36-year-old kicked a penalty to level the scores at 12-12 to set up a nervy finale before Lomax and Luke Keary traded late drop-goals.

But, with the tension mounting and errors creeping in for both sides, Lomax kept his cool to slot over the winning drop-goal with two minutes left to seal Saints ‘ first win in France since 2018.

Saints lost 19-year-old centre Harry Robertson inside three minutes after failing an HIA, but full-back Jack Welsby, on his 150th appearance, propelled them into an early 12-0 lead.

His first break and short inside pass gave Sailor a clear sprint to the line, and his second tore deep into Catalans territory before a quick play took him under the posts for his second try in three minutes. Mark Percival converted both.

Much of the pre-match talk centred on Tommy Makinson taking on his former side for the first time, and the full-back had a say on the pitch when his chip ahead held up in the gusting wind and bounced kindly for Tomkins to touch down.

Bayley Sironen was held up over the line before a Nick Cotric foot in touch denied Keary a score as Catalans pressed in a breathless opening half-hour.

Catalans enjoyed a let-off moments into the second half when Sailor was judged marginally offside before collecting a high, hanging Lomax kick to send Dayon Sambou over the line.

Paul Wellens ‘ side hung tough in defence, as Cotric was hauled down 10 metres short, and Keary went even closer with an angled run and stretch.

But the pressure told when Saints were caught offside in front of their own posts and Tomkins tied up the scores.

Soon after, Catalans thought they had hit the front for the first time, but Sironen’s touchdown was ruled out when Tevita Pangai Junior was deemed to have been tackled in the build-up.

The French side looked destined to wear down their opponents, but the Saints held their nerve and finished strongly.

Tomkins denied Saints a third score with eight minutes left when he got back to prevent Mark Percival collecting his chip through, but seconds later Lomax nudged the visitors back in front.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara:

“I thought it was a great contest and both teams played extremely well in the conditions, it’s very difficult for people to understand how tough that was to play.

” Both teams had a game plan, then looked at the weather and scrapped it but having said that I thought we played really well in attack for the majority of the game and defended well.

“For those two St Helens tries, I thought Jack Welsby was outstanding on both sets and it’s cost us dearly. Coming back from that point took a lot of energy but it was one of those games of fine margins and Saints just pipped us to the posts.

” I don’t think we’ve had a game this season in decent weather and it’s tested us again tonight but credit to Saints, Jack Welsby was outstanding for those couple of try plays and Lomax’s kicking the drop goals was the difference. “

St Helens boss Paul Wellens:

” It’s almost impossible to prepare for those windy conditions, you can’t replicate 60mph winds in training… you just have to be alert to things.

“You saw how many last plays bounced and it became a competition for the ball, some went our way and some went theirs.

” For Jonny to land two drop goals in those conditions is outstanding.

“It’s great that we won a tight game against top opposition and we’re going to need to do that again moving forward.

Interchanges: Romano, Satae, Seguier, Maria.

St Helens: Welsby, Bennison, Robertson, Percival, Sambou, Sailor, Lomax (c), Walmsley, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles.

Interchanges: Clark, Paasi, Wingfield, Delaney.

Betfred Super League

Catalans (10) 13

Tries: Tomkins 2 Goals: Tomkins 2 Drop-goal: Keary

St Helens (12) 14

Jonny Lomax kicked a late drop-goal as St Helens edged past Catalans Dragons 14-13 in a Super League thriller in Perpignan.

Tristan Sailor’s quickfire double put Saints up early before Les Dracs roared back as Sam Tomkins replied with two tries of his own to cut the deficit to two points.

The 36-year-old kicked a penalty to level the scores at 12-12 to set up a nervy finale before Lomax and Luke Keary traded late drop-goals.

But, with the tension mounting and errors creeping in for both sides, Lomax kept his cool to slot over the winning drop-goal with two minutes left to seal Saints ‘ first win in France since 2018.

Saints lost 19-year-old centre Harry Robertson inside three minutes after failing an HIA, but full-back Jack Welsby, on his 150th appearance, propelled them into an early 12-0 lead.

His first break and short inside pass gave Sailor a clear sprint to the line, and his second tore deep into Catalans territory before a quick play took him under the posts for his second try in three minutes. Mark Percival converted both.

Much of the pre-match talk centred on Tommy Makinson taking on his former side for the first time, and the full-back had a say on the pitch when his chip ahead held up in the gusting wind and bounced kindly for Tomkins to touch down.

Bayley Sironen was held up over the line before a Nick Cotric foot in touch denied Keary a score as Catalans pressed in a breathless opening half-hour.

Catalans enjoyed a let-off moments into the second half when Sailor was judged marginally offside before collecting a high, hanging Lomax kick to send Dayon Sambou over the line.

Paul Wellens ‘ side hung tough in defence, as Cotric was hauled down 10 metres short, and Keary went even closer with an angled run and stretch.

But the pressure told when Saints were caught offside in front of their own posts and Tomkins tied up the scores.

Soon after, Catalans thought they had hit the front for the first time, but Sironen’s touchdown was ruled out when Tevita Pangai Junior was deemed to have been tackled in the build-up.

The French side looked destined to wear down their opponents, but the Saints held their nerve and finished strongly.

Tomkins denied Saints a third score with eight minutes left when he got back to prevent Mark Percival collecting his chip through, but seconds later Lomax nudged the visitors back in front.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara:

“I thought it was a great contest and both teams played extremely well in the conditions, it’s very difficult for people to understand how tough that was to play.

” Both teams had a game plan, then looked at the weather and scrapped it but having said that I thought we played really well in attack for the majority of the game and defended well.

“For those two St Helens tries, I thought Jack Welsby was outstanding on both sets and it’s cost us dearly. Coming back from that point took a lot of energy but it was one of those games of fine margins and Saints just pipped us to the posts.

” I don’t think we’ve had a game this season in decent weather and it’s tested us again tonight but credit to Saints, Jack Welsby was outstanding for those couple of try plays and Lomax’s kicking the drop goals was the difference. “

St Helens boss Paul Wellens:

” It’s almost impossible to prepare for those windy conditions, you can’t replicate 60mph winds in training… you just have to be alert to things.

“You saw how many last plays bounced and it became a competition for the ball, some went our way and some went theirs.

” For Jonny to land two drop goals in those conditions is outstanding.

“It’s great that we won a tight game against top opposition and we’re going to need to do that again moving forward.

Interchanges: Romano, Satae, Seguier, Maria.

St Helens: Welsby, Bennison, Robertson, Percival, Sambou, Sailor, Lomax (c), Walmsley, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles.

Interchanges: Clark, Paasi, Wingfield, Delaney.

Betfred Super League

Catalans (10) 13

Tries: Tomkins 2 Goals: Tomkins 2 Drop-goal: Keary

St Helens (12) 14

Jonny Lomax kicked a late drop-goal as St Helens edged past Catalans Dragons 14-13 in a Super League thriller in Perpignan.

Tristan Sailor’s quickfire double put Saints up early before Les Dracs roared back as Sam Tomkins replied with two tries of his own to cut the deficit to two points.

The 36-year-old kicked a penalty to level the scores at 12-12 to set up a nervy finale before Lomax and Luke Keary traded late drop-goals.

But, with the tension mounting and errors creeping in for both sides, Lomax kept his cool to slot over the winning drop-goal with two minutes left to seal Saints ‘ first win in France since 2018.

Saints lost 19-year-old centre Harry Robertson inside three minutes after failing an HIA, but full-back Jack Welsby, on his 150th appearance, propelled them into an early 12-0 lead.

His first break and short inside pass gave Sailor a clear sprint to the line, and his second tore deep into Catalans territory before a quick play took him under the posts for his second try in three minutes. Mark Percival converted both.

Much of the pre-match talk centred on Tommy Makinson taking on his former side for the first time, and the full-back had a say on the pitch when his chip ahead held up in the gusting wind and bounced kindly for Tomkins to touch down.

Bayley Sironen was held up over the line before a Nick Cotric foot in touch denied Keary a score as Catalans pressed in a breathless opening half-hour.

Catalans enjoyed a let-off moments into the second half when Sailor was judged marginally offside before collecting a high, hanging Lomax kick to send Dayon Sambou over the line.

Paul Wellens ‘ side hung tough in defence, as Cotric was hauled down 10 metres short, and Keary went even closer with an angled run and stretch.

But the pressure told when Saints were caught offside in front of their own posts and Tomkins tied up the scores.

Soon after, Catalans thought they had hit the front for the first time, but Sironen’s touchdown was ruled out when Tevita Pangai Junior was deemed to have been tackled in the build-up.

The French side looked destined to wear down their opponents, but the Saints held their nerve and finished strongly.

Tomkins denied Saints a third score with eight minutes left when he got back to prevent Mark Percival collecting his chip through, but seconds later Lomax nudged the visitors back in front.

Catalans head coach Steve McNamara:

“I thought it was a great contest and both teams played extremely well in the conditions, it’s very difficult for people to understand how tough that was to play.

” Both teams had a game plan, then looked at the weather and scrapped it but having said that I thought we played really well in attack for the majority of the game and defended well.

“For those two St Helens tries, I thought Jack Welsby was outstanding on both sets and it’s cost us dearly. Coming back from that point took a lot of energy but it was one of those games of fine margins and Saints just pipped us to the posts.

” I don’t think we’ve had a game this season in decent weather and it’s tested us again tonight but credit to Saints, Jack Welsby was outstanding for those couple of try plays and Lomax’s kicking the drop goals was the difference. “

St Helens boss Paul Wellens:

” It’s almost impossible to prepare for those windy conditions, you can’t replicate 60mph winds in training… you just have to be alert to things.

“You saw how many last plays bounced and it became a competition for the ball, some went our way and some went theirs.

” For Jonny to land two drop goals in those conditions is outstanding.

“It’s great that we won a tight game against top opposition and we’re going to need to do that again moving forward.

Interchanges: Romano, Satae, Seguier, Maria.

St Helens: Welsby, Bennison, Robertson, Percival, Sambou, Sailor, Lomax (c), Walmsley, Whitley, Batchelor, Knowles.

Interchanges: Clark, Paasi, Wingfield, Delaney.

Dungannon Swifts booked their place in this season’s Irish Cup final by beating Bangor 2-0 in their semi-final at Seaview on Saturday.

Kyle Owens ‘ 17th-minute own goal and Dean Curry’s 82nd-minute header ensured that the Stangmore Park outfit will face Cliftonville in the showpiece decider on 3 May.

Bangor defender Owens headed into his own net as he attempted to clear the ball to safety after Andy Mitchell had lobbed the ball over advancing goalkeeper James Taylor.

Swifts captain Curry doubled the lead when he was left unmarked to head the ball home from Kealan Dillon’s corner.

The Swifts will be playing in only their second Irish Cup final, having lost to Linfield in a penalty shootout on their only previous appearance in 2007.

Championship leaders Bangor had caused a major upset at the last-eight stage as they defeated Glentoran 3-1 at their Clandeboye Park home but they were unable to repeat the dose against Dungannon.

Owens ‘ own goal had them on the back foot early on, although later in the first half Ben Arthurs headed narrowly wide and then at the start of the second 45 Reece Neale had a well-struck free-kick held by Declan Dunne at the second attempt.

The second period proved to be a much more frantic affair and while the Seasiders enjoyed their fair share of possession, it was their top flight opponents who created the more clearcut chances.

Mitchell could only find the sidenetting after meeting Adam Glenny’s delivery from the left at the back post.

John McGovern’s low left-foot shot was well saved by James Taylor with his legs and Mitchell fired over the bar from six yards out.

For Bangor, Jack O’Mahony saw his shot blocked by defender Danny Wallace.

Curry’s headed goal gave McAree’s side some breathing space and substitute Tomas Galvin went close to extending the advantage moments after entering the fray when his long-range drive cannoned off the post.

Disappointment then for Bangor who were left to rue the absence of experienced suspended players Robert Garrett and Tiarnan Mulvenna, cup-tied defender Jack Reilly and goalkeeper Patrick Solis Grogan, who was not permitted to face his parent club.

The north Down side had previously won the competition when they saw off near neighbours Ards after a second replay in 1993 and then reached the final again 12 months later, going down to Linfield.